


Constants and Variables

by noyanishi



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: 19 years old, Alternate Universe, Apartment AU, Like, M/M, Nonbinary Character, non-binary kenma, nonbinary suga, they go to college, they kiss at some point, theyre older in this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-01
Updated: 2015-11-19
Packaged: 2018-02-23 13:30:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2549276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noyanishi/pseuds/noyanishi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU where Kageyama and Hinata are neighbors in an apartment building.</p><p>Kageyama's life is constant, all until the boy with the bright orange hair moves in next door.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Kageyama Tobio opened his eyes to the flashing of bright red numbers and a shrill sound violating his eardrums. His hand reached around his bedside table before his fist finally slammed on top of the off button of his alarm clock. He sat up on his bed and stretched his arms behind his head, yawning.

6:00am his clock read when he looked down at it. Kageyama twisted from side to side, the satisfying crack making way to his ears.  He closed his eyes and relaxed ever so slightly. The sound of birds chirping replaced that of his alarm clock, and Tobio almost smiled.

Morning was always his favourite time of day. The way that the cool wind hit his face as he went for his morning run, the way the birds would sing their sweet melodies when nobody else could hear.

The way nobody else was awake to bother him. And at 19, fresh into university, Kageyama needed his peace and quiet.

Ah yes, he loved the morning.

Especially Friday mornings, since they were the one day he had no classes _or_ work. His schedule was always packed since he was always either learning or working, yet Fridays were the one day where he could just relax.

Tobio walked slowly out of his bedroom and made his way to the kitchen, where he grabbed a kettle from the cupboard and filled it. His small, calico kitten rubbed up against his ankles as he put the kettle on the stove to boil water for his cup of tea. He leaned against the counter as he waited, leaning over to give his cat a petting.

After the water started to boil, Tobio grabbed a mug and a teabag and poured the water in with a bit of honey. His mother had always told him that no tea should be drunk black, and to always put a bit of honey in because honey was liquid love. Tobio never argued with his mother.

After his tea was ready, he set it on the counter to cool and walked towards the door.

Kageyama grabbed his running shoes from where they sat beside the closet and he put them on, slipping his foot into the shoe and then lacing them.

Every morning at 6:15, Kageyama went for a run. It was one of the only constants in his life. His job changed all the time, what with him working part time at a small supermarket. It didn’t give the most stable hours, and for that Kageyama wanted to so desperately quit. But alas, college students had a neon sign over their head that warded of any practical employers, because _who in their right mind would hire a stressed out, caffeine high teenager?_

The only other constants Tobio had in his life were school and his neighbours.

His classes, for the semester at least, were always the same. English on Monday and Thursday, Chemistry on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and History on Sundays. Always two hour long, always the same professors, always the same day. See? Constant.

 In Kageyama’s small apartment block, the people never changed either. They were always the same college students (the rent was pretty low and it included utilities, perfect for any student indebted to the government) and elderly couples.

His apartment block was actually pretty nice, Tobio liked to think. His balcony was pointed with the view to the neighbouring park, and the building was in a nice area. If he didn’t know the owners, Tobio would wonder why the building was so cheap, being that the apartments could go for much higher prices. However, after meeting them, the owners were the sweetest elderly couple who were living off of retirement funds and weren’t running the place for money, and Tobio was glad.

(He wouldn’t be able to afford it if the rent moved up that much farther, even if his parents _did_ pay for half of it.)

Kageyama grabbed his keys from the dish beside the door and opened the front door of his apartment, getting ready to head down the hall when he noticed something.

He looked to the left and all he could see was a door.

That wasn’t closed.

A door that was wide open.

Kageyama’s first instinct was to close the door, but nobody had lived in that apartment for over a couple of months. The last occupant to live there was a student around his age who moved out because he and his girlfriend got an apartment together on the other side of the city.

(Don’t ask why he knew that, the guy wouldn’t stop talking about it in the elevator.)

A shiver ran its way through Tobio’s spine. Not that he was freaked out or anything. He totally wasn’t. Ghosts were illogical and they totally didn’t exist. Not one bit.

He decided to leave the door alone, robbers be damned, and he turned around ready to head to the elevator.

And he stopped in his tracks almost instantly. Again.

These surprises better stop coming out of nowhere if Tobio is even going to get anywhere near hisr un for the day.

But in front of him, blocking his path, was the biggest box Tobio had seen in his life. He was honestly a bit surprised as to how he hadn’t seen it before, but you know. Willful blindness or something.

“What the-“ he started to say but stopped, because at the same time the sound of his voice echoed from his body, a squeak came out from behind the box and it started to fall.

Before he could even think, Tobio lunged forward and grabbed the falling object, his arms snaking around the edges and grabbing someone else’s arms in the process.

The box was actually surprisingly light for its size, weighing no more than a couple of textbooks.

As soon as Kageyama was sure the box was okay, he set it down on the ground and (reluctantly) let go of the other’s arms. From behind the box, Tobio was surprised to see, there was a man.

Well, not a man. More like a kid his age. He was probably on the younger side of 19, Tobio guessed, and was quite short. Really short, actually. Tobio almost couldn’t get over his height. Except literally, in which case he was _well_ over the other’s height.

He came up to about Tobio’s shoulders, his bright orange hair probably making up some of that height. He had light brown eyes that were round and joyful, and as soon as he saw the man who had helped him with the box, a giant grin lit up his face.

The shorter man stuck out his hand, completely ignoring the fallen box. “I’m Hinata Shouyou!” He smiled, “I’m your new neighbour!”

Kageyama reluctantly took the hand outstretched to him. “Kageyama Tobio.” He said politely. Before he could stop himself, he said “That box wasn’t actually all that heavy you know, why did you almost drop it?”

The boy, Hinata, flushed at the words. “It- It’s not that- It’s not that it was heavy,” he stuttered. “It was just too awkward to carry!”

“Your arms must be too short.” Kageyama stated.

Hinata looked a bit upset for a second, which quickly turned to defensive anger. “I’m not _that_ short!”

Kageyama stared blankly at the shorter boy. “Yes, you are.”

“I can carry that box perfectly fine on my own!”

“Well, obviously you can’t”

Hinata’s eyebrows furrowed. “You’re just freakishly tall.”

Kageyama nodded shortly. “Why are you even moving at 6:30 am? Isn’t that too early?”

“It’s a perfectly normal time!” Hinata argued.

“It’s really not.” Kageyama stated.

“Well it’s none of your business!”

Kageyama stared blankly at the shorter boy. For some reason, that last remark angered him. “I was just wondering!” Kageyama stared angrily at the shorter boy. “Have fun moving the box that’s three times taller than you.”

“It’s not that big!” Hinata gestured to the box. “I’m definitely bigger than it!”

“Whatever you say.” Kageyama stated sarcastically. He turned around and opened his front door, almost slamming it shut in the process.

That boy, Hinata, had angered him so much. He was just trying to help, and the boy had to make a big deal out of it.

Kageyama slipped off his running shoes. He could miss one day of consistencies, he decided. He walked over to where his tea still sat on the counter. He gently took a sip, testing the temperature.

It burned the inside of his mouth and throat as it went down.


	2. Chapter 2

Hinata stared at the door that had slammed in front of him. He didn’t know why, but the presence of the taller man had made him so angry. His straight cut black hair and dark blue eyes, his piercing glare and the cold aura he had. Everything emanating from him screamed _danger_ yet Hinata didn’t care. He kept pushing him until he snapped.

A small, frustrated noise escaped Hinata’s throat as he looked at the door. His gaze slowly moved to the box sitting in front of him and he sighed. He knew that the man, Kageyama, was right, He was too short to carry a box like this. His arms made the angle all awkward and nothing was that easy when you were short.

Hinata sighed. He started leaning down to grab the box again when a hand touched his shoulder and he jumped.

He quickly looked around to find the source of the mysterious hand, only to sigh and laugh a little internally.

Kenma smiled at him softly and removed their hand from Hinata’s shoulder. “Are you okay?” they asked, their head quirking to the side slightly.

Hinata quickly smiled wide. “Completely fine! I just met one of my neighbours though.”

“What was your neighbour doing up this early?” Kenma questioned looking towards the closed door that Hinata had been staring at only moments earlier.

Hinata shrugged. “Beats me.” He looked at the box that was on the ground.” I wonder if we woke him up?”

“Probably not” Kenma half smiled. “We weren’t being too loud. Maybe they’re just a morning person?”

“Didn’t seem like it.” Hinata mumbled to himself.

Kenma quirked an eyebrow but didn’t say anything, instead they silently picked up the large box with ease and moved it into the open door of Hinata’s new apartment.

Hinata walked in after them and closed the door behind the both of them. “Is that the last box?” He asked.

Kenma nodded after they set the box down in the middle of the living room. They turned towards Hinata. “I went down and parked the truck, so we don’t have to go back down for a while. Or at least not until we unpack a bunch of these boxes.”

Hinata smiled. “Sounds great!” He looked down at all of the boxes surrounding them. As happy as he was about getting an apartment all to himself, unpacking was definitely going to be one of his _least_ favourite things.

Kenma grabbed a box from the ground labeled “KITCHEN” in big block letters and Hinata followed suit. They went to the kitchen and opened the boxes, slowly unpacking cutlery, putting dishes in the cupboards and appliances on the counter.

After digging the kettle out of his box, Hinata held it up questioningly.

Kenma nodded and Hinata filled the electric kettle with water and he plugged it in, flicking the switch. They sat in silence for a while, unpacking boxes until they were empty and the kettle started boiling. Kenma grabbed two comic themed mugs from the recently filled cupboard and Hinata grabbed earl gray tea and sugar from another box.

“We don’t have milk yet, I hope that’s okay. “ Hinata said as he filled the mugs with teabags and boiling water.

“It’s fine.” Kenma said. They grabbed their mug from the counter and immediately put it in the fridge. Hinata grabbed his mug in his hands as Kenma jumped on the counter.

“So,” they started from where they sat. “Was this neighbour of yours cute?”

Hinata flushed and Kenma smiled lightly. “He- he was really rude!”

“But cute?” Kenma laughed.

Hinata hesitated as he thought of the taller man. His dark grey eyes and his jet black hair, his sharp face and piercing gaze. He was tall but not lanky, and he had been wearing shorts and a t-shirt that looked like they had been slept in. Hinata nodded reluctantly and tried to hide his blush by taking a sip of his drink, which made him burn his mouth. He walked over to the fridge and set his mug alongside Kenma’s. He leaned against the counter and Kenma smiled at him playfully.

“You should ask him out.” Kenma suggested.

If Hinata had still been sipping at his drink, he would have done a spit take right there. His eyes widened almost comically and he slipped a little from where he was leaning. “You can’t be serious! He was really mean!”

Kenma shrugged and grabbed their mug from the fridge, testing the drink by sticking their pinky finger in it. They took a cautious sip and sat back on the counter. “Maybe he was just flustered. You are pretty cute.”

Hinata blushed a bit. “You can’t say things like that Kenma! You don’t even know if he- likes boys.”

“Maybe he does though, you’ll never know until you ask.” Kenma said.

Hinata sighed. Kageyama _was_ pretty cute, but his attitude was rude and his exterior was cold. There was also the big question surrounding him that _maybe he wasn’t into boys_ and Hinata would just make the whole thing awkward by asking. As if he hadn’t made it awkward by getting mad at him. Hinata sighed to himself as he remembered their encounter.

Maybe he _could_ have been a little nicer. The taller boy was only trying to help… he _had_ stopped the box from falling on Hinata. He shivered slightly as he remembered when the cool arms grabbed his as the box fell.

Maybe he _would_ ask the taller boy out.

Hinata laughed to himself. Yeah _right_.

Kenma sighed and grabbed another box from the living room to unpack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got this chapter done a little early, so instead of posting it tomorrow I posted it today! I hope you enjoyed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> familiar looks, locks, and lost cats.

Kageyama sat on the couch and stared at the black screen of the television angrily. His hands curled around his mug of tea, and his mouth turned downwards in a frown.

He couldn’t stop thinking of the shorter boy and how much that encounter had upset him. It hadn’t meant too much, obviously, but Kageyama’s mind wouldn’t stop wandering to the mental image of the man, vivid orange hair and a smile just as bright. Round eyes filled with curiosity and joy.

Kageyama shook the thoughts out of his head. He grabbed the remote to the television and turned it on, leaving it on the channel that it was on last, which currently played a volleyball game.

A small, calico cat jumped up on his lap and Kageyama smiled. His kitten, Spot was his favourite person (well, animal) in the world. She was barely bigger than a football, and she walked in a way that was adorable even to Kageyama.

He smiled down at her as she playfully attacked one of his hands.

From outside his door, Kageyama could hear the sound of a neighbouring door closing and a lock being locked, and for a second he wondered if it was his new neighbor. He quickly shut that thought out of his mind and continued to watch the game that was on TV.

 

An hour into the game, his cat nowhere in sight, Kageyama sighed and took a sip of his now cold tea. It was quiet in his house, but it wasn’t the usual comfortable silence. It was an unnerving quiet.

His attention was caught by the lock of his door jiggling and his cat meowing slightly.

For a second, Tobio froze. The first thought that flashed into his head was that someone trying to break into his house.

He laughed to himself suddenly. If they were goning to look around his apartment for money, Tobio was going to look with them.

The door opened and Tobio stared at the person standing there.

Awkwardly standing at the door, hands poised in the air like his hand was hovering over the doorknob, _letting Tobio’s cat out_ , was none other than Hinata Shouyou.

“Dumbass!” Kageyama yelled jumping up from the couch. “You let my cat out!”

“This isn’t my apartment.” Hinata said, still in shock. His eyes quickly wandered around the neat and clinical interior of Kageyama’s apartment before they settled on the face of the taller man from where he now stood in front of Hinata.

“Well of course it isn’t!” Kageyama stared at Hinata angrily, then he looked to the Hinata’s palm where the keys lay. “How’d you even get in here anyways? My door was locked.”

Hinata looked down to his palm too. “I guess my keys also work on your door? That’s a little weird.” He looked down the hall to where he saw the calico kitten sitting at the end of the hall. “Also, I think I let your cat out.”

“I told you that, dumbass! Now help me get her back.” Kageyama stepped out his apartment and jogged towards where the cat was sitting. She meowed quietly, before darting through Kageyama’s outstretched legs and towards Hinata. She stopped at Hinata’s feet and didn’t move when he bent over and picked her up, hands gently petting the soft fur.

“That wasn’t so hard!” Hinata smiled down at the kitten in his hands. He walked into Kageyama’s apartment and set the kitten down near the kitchen.

Kageyama had silently walked in behind him, and looked down at where Hinata was crouched over the cat’s food bowl petting his kitten softly. “What’s your name again?” He asked, voice soft enough to almost not be heard.

He was almost sure Hinata _hadn’t_ heard him until a soft reply came back. “I’m Hinata Shouyou.” His head turned around to look at Kageyama. “And I’m… sorry about what happened earlier. With the box. I could have been a lot nicer than that, I’m sorry.”

Kageyama nodded curtly and crossed his arms to lean against the wall.

Still petting the cat, Hinata continued. “I mean to be fair, you were also kind of rude.”

Kageyama was about to but in but Hinata showed no signs of stopping his speech. “It’s okay though, I mean you just met me and I probably woke you up. You had reason to be grumpy.”

“You didn’t wake me up.” Kageyama stated, standing up straight. “I was on my way to go for a run at the time you were moving in.” He didn’t even try to deny the part where Hinata has said he was grumpy.

Hinata stared at him blankly, and stood up from where he was crouching. His height, even with the inch or so of hair, was no match for Kageyama. “Why were you up so early to run?” Hinata asked.

Kageyama shrugged. “I like the mornings.”

Hinata nodded slowly. “So you’re a morning person. Hm. I guess Kenma was right.”

“Kenma?” Kageyama asked before his wandering mind could stop him. Brother? Sister? Cousin? _Significant other?_

“Yeah, one of my best friends.” Hinata grinned and Kageyama let out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding. “They’re a really cool person!”

“They?” Kageyama furrowed his eyebrows.

“Oh!” Hinata looked almost excited. “Kenma prefers gender neutral, or they/them pronouns! It’s what makes them most comfortable.”

Kageyama nodded.

He looked down towards the shorter boy and then quickly looked to where the door was still open behind them. Hinata turned around and looked to the door too, before he walked back and closed it, him still inside Kageyama’s apartment.

“Uh,” Kageyama looked towards the door. “Why are you here?” Not that I mind, he added to himself.

The brightness in Hinata’s eyes faltered (for which Kageyama mentally punched himself) before coming back full blast. “To meet my new neighbour of course!”

Turning his head, Kageyama glanced towards the clock on his oven. 8:52am. He looked back towards Hinata and raised his eyebrows. “Isn’t it a little early for that?”

Hinata took his phone from his pocket and clicked it to show the time. He stuffed it back in his pocket and looked at Tobio. “It’s never too early! You’re up and I’m up, so what’s the point in wasting this morning?”

Kageyama looked skeptical but sighed internally. The shorter boy was almost too much for him, with his bright eyes and smile that lit up his whole face. It almost physically _hurt_ Tobio to look at the boy for too long. Kageyama though that he was maybe the literal human embodiment of sunshine.

This time, Tobio took his time looking over the shorter boy. His hair, first off, was the _orangest_ hair that Kageyama had ever seen on a human being before. His face was round yet pointed, his neck was lithe, as was his body. He was short, yet he had what looked like strong leg muscles. He looked a bit familiar, Kageyama thought.

All of a sudden, his appearance made sense.

“Hey, this may sound like a weird question, but do you play volleyball?”

Hinata eyes turned confused as he looked at Kageyama. “How do you know that?” He asked, quieter than he was all morning.

“You look like someone from a high school that my team had played against, once.” Kageyama pondered internally for a second. “Do you still play?”

Hinata nodded. “I play for my university’s team.”

“Karasuno?”

“How do you know!” Hinata gaped.

Kageyama smirked. “I go there too. I was thinking about trying out for the volleyball team.”

“You should!” Hinata grinned. “We’re always looking for new members! What position do you play?”

“Setter.” Kageyama crossed his arms with an almost smile.

Hinata tapped hsi forefinger on his chin. “Hm, I think Suga-san will be okay with letting a new setter come in. We’ll have to see what you got first!” He exclaimed.

Kageyama quirked an eyebrow. “Like I said, I was _thinking_ about trying out.”

“Well are you any good?”

“Better than good.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Pretty sure.”

“Well, we’ll see.” Hinata smiled cutely and turned around, and walked towards the closed door. With his hand on the handle, he turned around. I’ll get the landlords to change my lock, wouldn’t want us to have this mix-up again, would we?”

As the door was closing on Hinata’s way out, a small voice came from Kageyama.

“Maybe we do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next update should be up no later than Thursday!
> 
> feel free to leave me a prompt at httpclear.tumblr.com


	4. Chapter 4

Hinata woke up the next morning with the last remnants of his dream on his mind. It had involved volleyball, as always, yet this time it involved getting a fantastic toss from Kageyama. Weird.

What was also weird was the fact that Hinata felt a warmth at his side. His first thought was to snuggle into the heat, and so he did. His hands wrapped around a big ball of fur that lay at his side, and he smiled ever so slightly.

The big ball of fur at his side started vibrating.

Hinata’s eyes opened wide. He didn’t remember ever owning anything small and furry, or inviting anything of that sort into his house for that matter.

Looking down at the ball of fur, Hinata noticed that his suspicions were right and there was in fact a cat in his bed. Which would be nice; pleasant really, if he had owned a cat. Which he didn’t.

Hinata sat up in his bed and stretched. The cat beside him opened its eyes and stopped purring. The purring from the kitten had ceased, yet its warmth still radiated into Hinata and he sat in bed for a little longer than necessary just to feel warmth pressed against his leg.

Now the only problem Hinata had at that moment was to find out whose cat it actually was. Not that he minded really, Hinata had always been a cat person. It just understandable that when he wakes up with a cat that isn’t his, that he try and find the owner of said feline.

The calico kitten slowly pawed off the bed and Hinata followed, wondering where it would lead him. Maybe, he thought hopefully, it would lead him back to its owner. That would very much lighten the amount of work Hinata would have to do, however it wasn’t likely being as the cat was a very normal cat that appeared to have no specific mind to get home just yet.

To his surprise, the kitten _didn’t_ go to the front door. It went to the kitchen. Where it sat in front of the wide open fridge.

Hinata stared blankly at the open door. He _had_ remembered to close it the previous night, right? All he had done was get home from Kageyama’s and napped until 4 (he wondered if it counted as a nap if it was 7 hours long). After he woke up he ordered food in and watched a volleyball match before going back to sleep.

Needless to say, Hinata loved sleep.

But he didn’t remember opening the fridge at all. He hadn’t needed anything from there, and it’s not like his fridge was packed full. In fact it was quite empty, being that he had only really moved in yesterday. The only items of major importance to him were his bed, television and some furniture that he could sit and eat on. All the rest of his stuff was still in boxes.

He obviously had his priorities straight.

And so did the kitten, when as soon as Hinata closed the fridge door the cat opened it again. With its paws.

Hinata was practically staring in awe at the little ball of fur, when it started to purr again. It looked from the fridge up to his face, and Hinata followed his gaze. Inside his fridge, one of the only things really, was a can of tuna.

Hinata almost facepalmed as he looked down at the kitten. He shook his head slightly, giving the fluffball the most sympathetic look he could muster. “I’m sorry, little fella.” He scratched the cat behind the ears slowly and waited until it started to purr again. “I’m not sure if you’re allergic to anything. I’d hate to give you back to your owner dead.”

The cat nipped at his hand with sharp little teeth and Hinata gave a sharp cry of surprise. He clutched the hand to his chest almost dramatically and stared angrily down at the cat. “Now I’m definitely not giving you any tuna!”

The cat raised its nose in the air and sauntered over to Hinata’s living room window. It clawed at the window until Hinata came over with his hands in the air frantically saying a “No! Don’t do that!”

The cat kept clawing and Hinata wanted to scream, seeing that the cat didn’t have any intentions on stopping until he actually opened the window, which he didn’t want to do. He didn’t want to lose the cat that was already lost. He didn’t want to be responsible for something like that.

But then he actually thought about it for a second.

If the cat was already lost, it wouldn’t make it _more_ lost if Hinata were to… accidently let it get away. Would it?

The cat kept clawing and Hinata screamed slightly. “Fine! I’ll open your stupid window!”

Then the cat stopped. And got off of the window sill. And walked away. It completely ignored the window and Hinata was struck in wonder and a bit of amusement. But mostly frustration.

He turned abruptly on the cat and stared at it in its eyes. “You can’t be serious.” He whispered as he raised his eyebrows.

The cat only meowed in response and started to purr.

Hinata was interrupted from his staring when a knock came to the door. God bless that knock.

Hinata wandered over to the door and opened it, slightly surprised to see a worried looking Kageyama on the other side.

“Have you seen my cat?” he asked, slightly out of breath. Hinata wondered why he was breathing so heavy. And what caused him to breathe so heavy. And if _other_ things caused him to breathe heavy-

Okay no, Cat. He asked for cat.

“Uh,” Hinata stared at the face in front of him. He noticed the sharp, dark grey eyes looking him over once and a tongue darting out to moisten lips. He saw an arm leaning against his doorway and a chest rising and falling. Most importantly, he saw beads of sweat making a white t-shirt cling to a very in shape body.

Hinata gulped.

Yes, right.

“Uh?” Kageyama quirked an eyebrow. “Yes or no?”

“It’s kind of, in my apartment right now.” Hinata said, rubbing his hand against the nape of his neck. “I mean probably… You see, it’s not my cat but it might not be yours either-“

Kageyama quickly looked at the space behind Hinata, and he was a bit glad that the eyes stopped focusing on him for a second so he could actually _breathe._

_“_ What’s she doing in there _?”_ Kageyama wondered out loud as he stepped into the apartment.

“Come in.” Hinata let out sarcastically.

Kageyama nodded and quickly walked in further to Hinata’s barren apartment. He looked for his ca, eyes searching the bare minimum that Hinata had actually put out. Once he got inside and noticed that his cat was indeed in there, he stopped to _actually_ look around. All that was up was a couple of volleyball posters and the television that was mounted on the wall. There were brown boxes everywhere, and Hinata’s couch and chair definitely did not match seeing as they were both from yard sales.

Kageyama scooped up his cat in his arms and looked down to Hinata. “Thank you, for having my cat.” He said. ”Do you have any idea how she got in here?” Kageyama asked.

Hinata shrugged. He hadn’t known anything about that cat until she slept next to him. Well that wasn’t entirely the truth. There was that brief period of five or so minutes where Hinata had pet her in Kageyama’s apartment, but whatever.

Hinata tried to think of ways that the cat could have gotten into his apartment, but he was turning up blanks. The front door was locked, as was the bedroom window. The living room however…

“The window!” Hinata said, almost excited after cracking the mystery. Not that it was really a mystery, he added to himself.

“Window?” Kageyama wondered.

“Yeah!” I guess somehow she must have pushed open my window! That must have been how she got in!”

“I don’t even know how she got out in the first place,” Kageyama admitted. “But once again, thank you for not letting her leave your sight until I got here”

Hinata almost admitted guilty that he was ready to do just that right before Kageyama walked in, yet he stopped himself. He didn’t need Kageyama thinking he was that bad of a person. Even if he actually was. Nobody needed to know what Hinata already knew.

“Well, did she cause you any trouble?” Kageyama asked, clutching his cat to his chest.

Hinata shook his head. “I mean, I was a little startled when I woke up this morning to find that there was a big ball of fur next to my leg, and then I got out of bed and she was able to open the fridge and I was all like “-Bwah!!” because that’s not something that animals generally know how to do, you know?”

Kageyama looked almost annoyed, yet a bit happy. “Yeah,” he nodded. “She has some weird habits that she has gotten into. She also likes to open her food cupboard and sit inside of it until I feed her.”

At that, Hinata laughed out loud a little breathless laugh that made the insides of Tobio squirm. It was a laugh that embodied happiness, he thought,

“So your cat isn’t the only one who’s a little weird!” Hinata smiled.

“Are you calling me weird?” Kageyama’s face twisted into one of confusing.

Hinata gulped slightly and looked at Tobio. “Maybe.”

“Okay, well I’m going to go I think. Thanks again.” And then he was off, his cat curled into his arms along with Hinata’s chance at having a nice relationship with his neighbours.

 Hinata wanted to slap himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this chapter was up a little earlier than expected! next one should be on the weekend.
> 
> feel free to send me prompts on tumblr: httpclear.tumblr.com


	5. Chapter 5

“Don’t mind, don’t mind!” Sugawara Koushi sat on the bleachers, their hands cupped around their mouth to let out a cheer to their team. “You’ll get the next one Noya!”

Nishinoya sent a thumbs-up Suga’s way with a grin on his face. He turned his attention back to the court and crouched back down to focus on the game.

Suga smiled and let their hands rest on their knees. They rocked backwards slightly and were about to call out another encouragement when a hand touched their shoulder softly.

“Suga-san? Can I talk to you?” Hinata said, from the bleacher behind Sugawara. Suga nodded with a soft smile.

“When did you get here?” They asked cheerfully. “I didn’t hear you get onto the bleachers.”

“Just a few moments ago, everyone _is_ usually loud when they play, aren’t they.” Hinata smiled.

Suga nodded with a smile. “It’s one of the things I love about our team, they never lose spirit.” They turned around on the bleacher to face Hinata directly. “So,” they clasped their hands together and rested their chin on them. “What is it you wanted to talk about?”

“Well,” Hinata shifted awkwardly. “It’s about another player trying out for the team.”

Suga nodded. “You do know tryouts were last week, right?”

Hinata nodded quickly and shook his hands in front of him. “No, yeah, I do know, it’s just that-“

“It would be a bit hypocritical for me to say that though, when I’m letting another new member try out today.” Suga said, squinting his eyes a little.

“What?” Hinata exclaimed, face brightening up immediately. “Who is it? What’s their name?”

Suga grabbed the clipboard from where it sat beside them. They flipped through a couple of pages before coming to a stop at the one they wanted. “Uh,” They flipped another page. “Kageyama Tobio.” Suga’s finger ran down the page. “He’s trying out for setter.”

Hinata’s eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, and immediately went down to court where Kageyama was there, setting the ball skillfully to Tanaka. Hinata’s jaw dropped. It was quite literally the perfect toss for Tanaka. It was high, yet not too high. It was far enough away from the net for Tanka to hit at the perfect point of his jump.

Kageyama Tobio really was a skilled setter. He wasn’t lying.

“Who was it that you were asking for?” Suga said, clicking their pen. “I’ll fill out the form for them right now.”

Hinata’s mouth opened and closed a couple of times. “It was, uh, for Kageyama.”

Koushi perked up immediately, their back straightened and their hands clasped together in their lap. “Well isn’t that a pleasant surprise then.”

“Yeah, I guess so.” Hinata smiled down to the volleyball court.

“Sorry, Tsukki!” Yamaguchi’s voice echoed from the gym where he’d just missed a serve and sent it flying to the back of Tsukishima’s head. He looked quite cute when he was sheepish, and Tsukishima only nodded once.

Suga smiled at Hinata, whose attention was still focused on the game. “It’s nice, isn’t it?”

Hinata turned his head to Suga ever so slightly, eyes still resting on the game. “What is?” He asked, eyes finally meeting Koushi’s.

Koushi smiled and turned their body back to face the game. They looked wistfully down at the court. “The way everyone works together.” The smiled. “Everyone is just so in tune with everyone else, even when they’re playing against each other. They know how to help each other succeed. It’s great to watch and even better to play in. It just feels like there’s this sort of—“ Koushi gestured their hands a bit in front of them, looking for the right word. “This energy, you know?”

Hinata nodded quickly. “Yeah, I definitely feel it all the time when I’m on the court. Even when I’m off; the feeling is just so strong.”

Suga nodded and sighed a little. “I believe Tobio-san will be able to help us a lot. His tosses are analytical and fantastic; he’s aware of what everyone needs. He’s going to be a great addition to our team.”

Hinata nodded shortly. He quickly turned to Sugawara. “But Suga-san! Doesn’t that mean you won’t be able to play as much? If Tobio gets on the team that is, won’t he be the one doing most of the tosses?”

Suga sighed slightly. “Yeah, probably.” They turned to Hinata and smiled. “But I’m willing to let a few games go by without me playing in order for us to win more!” They smirked. “Besides, I’m great at cheering from the sidelines, I’ll still be right with you when you guys win the games!”

Hinata grinned and offered his hand up for Sugawara, to which they obliged. The sound of the high-five couldn’t be heard over the sound of the game below.

“Now,” Suga raised their eyebrows at the shorter boy. “Shouldn’t you be getting on the court?”

 

* * *

 

 

The ball whipped past his hand and Hinata stood there stunned. He turned quickly on Kageyama. “That was too fast!”

Anger took hold of Kageyama. “That was a perfectly good toss you dumbass! Hit it next time!”

“I can’t hit it the next time if it’s way over my head!” Hinata shouted, stepping towards Kageyama.

“You can if you jump!”

“It was way past my hand when I _did_ jump, stupid!”

“Then trust me and just swing next time!” Kageyama snarked back.

Hinata simply nodded, anger fading fast from his little body. “Okay.”

Kageyama looked confused.

“Okay.” He repeated. “I trust you.” He quickly turned on his heel and walked back over to his spot on the court, and the next time he looked at Kageyama he simply nodded. He needed to put trust in the other boy, needed to let him know that he would do whatever it takes.

Kageyama nodded in response.

The next time the ball came towards Hinata, he closed his eyes and hit with all his might.

That quick that proceeded was god-like.

 

* * *

 

 

“I can’t believe how awesome that was!” Hinata exclaimed, getting onto the city bus behind Kageyama. “IT was all like gwah- and I was all blam! And my hand!” Hinata looked down to his palm where it was still red. “It felt fantastic! We should do that again sometime!”

Kageyama shook his head slightly. “Now that I’m on the team, it’s going to be happening a lot more than that. We’re going to win all our games because of me.”

Hinata sat down in a seat at the back and Kageyama sat next to him. “Now don’t think too highly of yourself. We don’t want you to become a dictating king, do we?” Hinata side-smiled at him.

Kageyama stared at him blankly. “Don’t call me a king. I’m not your king.”

Hinata laughed slightly. “Then don’t say it’s because of you that we’re going to win. We’re all going to take a part in that. Noya-senpai especially! He’s always got our backs!”

“Yeah well,” Kageyama looked towards the window.

Hinata pulled the string signalling for the bus to stop, and he stood up, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. Kageyama followed suit and the pair of them got off the bus with quick “thank you’s” to the bus driver.

They started walking slowly to the apartment buildings main doors and Hinata continued. “I love our team, don’t you? Everyone works together and we’re all like a big happy family!”

Kageyama said nothing and Hinata looked at him expectantly. He had to feel the same way about the team, right? It was one of the main things Hinata loved about the sport, and if the person he wanted to get to know better didn’t feel the same way, Hinata didn’t know what he would do.

“I just started today, Hinata. They don’t know me and I don’t know them. They only know me for my serves, and while those are great they don’t know what an awful person I am yet.”

“But you’re not an awful person!” Hinata interrupted. “You’re Kageyama and you toss to me great and you’re a good person I think. You can be scary sometimes, but you’re not exactly mean.”

Kageyama turned to Hinata slowly. “Do you actually mean that?”

“Well duh. I don’t just say things.” Hinata said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“Well yes you do.”

“Do not!”

“Do so!”

They continued their bantering all the way up until they got to their respective doors and then they stopped, staring awkwardly at each other.

Hinata didn’t know whether or not a goodbye was in order, or if not saying goodbye would be impolite? But maybe if he were to spit out a goodbye, Kageyama would think lower of him for some reason.

Hinata panicked.

“Well, I’ll see you then.” Kageyama said with a wave of his hand. He turned towards his door which he had apparently already unlocked and he walked inside, letting the door fall shut behind him. Hinata just stared at the space where the form of the boy used to be standing.

“See ya.” He said to the empty hallway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there's probably going to be some volleyball scenes and maybe some college scenes too hm


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it's been about a year since I've updated this. Honestly, I have no idea why. I plan on continuing with this, and hope to have at least semi regular updates! I also plan on writing more other fics in general? If that happens, updates on this one might become less frequent but hey, we never know!
> 
> Also, thank you for everyone who has enjoyed this fic so far, and for anyone who might also still be reading it. You guys are great, and are honestly what made me want to continue. 
> 
> There will probably be multiple updates today seeing as i (apparently?) had quite a lot written?
> 
> Long beginning note over, please enjoy!

Kageyama woke up the next day to the smell of something burning.

He looked around his room for the source of the awful smell before realizing that nothing in his room should be on fire at—he looked at his clock— 8 in the morning on a Monday. Not that anything in his room should be on fire at any other time of the day, for that matter, but 8am was quite an unreasonable time for any type of arson.

Reluctantly, Tobio removed himself from the warmth of his covers to actually look for the source of the burning. Honestly, who in their right mind would burn something at 8 am? It was very inconsiderate of others.

After searching his apartment and not finding anything that could be releasing the awful stench, Tobio sighed and entered the hallway. The smell out in the hall was quite a bit stronger, and seemed to be coming from the left.

Tobio turned and looked and wasn’t actually that surprised when he saw a small amount of smoke coming from the underside of Hinata’s doorway.

Sighing again, Kageyama knocked on the door— once, twice, three times— when a Hinata emerged from the door, coughing ever so slightly into his balled up hand.

“Tobio-chan!” Hinata smiled widely at the same time Kageyama replied with a “Don’t call me chan. Or Tobio, for that matter.”

“Kageyama!” Hinata corrected himself. He interrupted himself by coughing a little. “So,” He dropped his hands to his waist. It would have looked almost dramatic, Kageyama thought, with the smoke billowing out from behind him and the arms on the waist. If it wasn’t for the constant coughing of the both of them. “What brings you to my humble abode?”

“The smoke, you dumbass. Why else would I be here?” Kageyama stated through the fingers that were covering his nose and mouth.

Hinata’s smile faltered just a little. “What about the smoke?” he asked.

Kageyama glared at Hinata. “There’s a lot of it? It woke me up.”

Hinata’s face dropped completely. “Oh. I’m sorry.”

Kageyama scrunched up his face and shook his head slightly “’s fine.”

Hinata smiled softly. “Okay good.”

“Why is there so much of it anyways?” he asked, trying to peek over Hinata’s shoulder into the apartment that was filled with smoke. “Because if you don’t get the amount of smoke to go down soon, the sprinklers are going to go off and a lot of people will probably be upset.”

Hinata suddenly looked very worried. “Do you really think so?” He asked, sounding terrified at the prospect of someone not liking him. “Oh dear…” Hinata quickly turned on his feet and entered his apartment. He left the door open, which Kageyama took as an invitation to follow him.

What he was lead to was a surprise.

Because what he was lead to was the sight of two blackened frying pans in the sink and the sight of smoke coming from the oven. Kageyama couldn’t help but stare at what he assumed were failed attempts at cooking.

He looked at Hinata where he stood in front of the oven looking distraught as he rubbed his hand against the back of his neck. “It’s not what it looks like,” he started, looking anywhere but at Kageyama’s face.

Kageyama raised his eyebrows and looked back around to the dishes that loitered the sink. “Really?” he said. “Because to me, it looks like you can’t cook to save your life. These looked like the creation of something edible gone wrong. I mean by the looks of it there was no possibility that it was ever going to end well.”

“Hey!” Hinata defended. “I can totally cook!”

“Really?” Kageyama said again. “Because from what I can see, you’re either lying or a pyromaniac. And I don’t think you would enjoy setting fire to your house.”

Sighing, Hinata plopped himself on the counter that didn’t have anything burnt on it. “I can cook!” He said, sounding like he was trying to convince himself, too.

“Soup and macaroni don’t count.” Kageyama stated blankly.

Hinata’s mouth formed a thin, tight line and Kageyama almost laughed at how frustrated he looked. _Almost._

Before Kageyama could stop himself, the words escaped his lips “You know, since you suck at cooking and I don’t want my building to burn down, I could always teach you how?”

“How to what?” Hinata asked, rocking his legs back and forth. If Kageyama didn’t know any better, he’d think that Hinata were happy, of all the things to be after almost burning down your entire apartment block.

“How to cook, you dumbass.” Kageyama sighed out.

Hinata’s face immediately lit up and Kageyama’s stomach fluttered a bit for an unexplained reason.

“Really?” Hinata grinned. “You’d really teach me how to cook?”

Back out of it now, you don’t have to do this yet. “Yeah.” Well shit. It turns out Kageyama is going to teach Hinata how to cook. Isn’t _that_ going to be fun.

Hinata hesitated for a little, looking like he wanted to say something but was tripping over the words. He looked hesitant, as if he were to mutter the words the world might collapse.

“When,” he started, shifting awkwardly from where he sat on the edge of the counter. Kageyama wondered if he was going to fall off. “When do you want to start?”

Kageyama’s face moved as if he hadn’t heard what Hinata had said. “Start what?”

Hinata flushed, embarrassed to be speaking the words that left his mouth. “The cooking lessons, you meanie.”

“Oh.” Kageyama looked around for a clock and checked the time. “Would right now be okay?” He gestured to the smoke that still filled the room. “After all this goes down, of course.”

Hinata looked like he’d only jus noticed the smoke for the first time that day. “Oh!” He exclaimed, looking wildly around. “Right! Yes! About that.” He jumped off of the counter and headed towards the window. He unlatched the hooks and pushed it open to help air out the room.

Hinata turned towards Kageyama and walked over slowly. “So, what are we going to make Chef Kageyama?”

Kageyama glared at the ball of sunshine until Hinata’s smile faltered. Seriously, who was so happy after their house had almost been burnt to ashes?

“You have some options, based on what food you actually have of course.” Kageyama looked around, and walked to the nearest cupboard.

When he opened it, his head fell over his shoulder and he stared at Hinata with a dead expression in his eyes. “Are you serious?”

“What?” Hinata said defensively, “I’m a college student! What do you expect of me?”

“I expect more than a couple boxes of Kraft dinner, some ramen noodles and a packet of fruit roll ups.” Kageyama stared. He checked a couple of the other cupboards, only to find dishes, and more of the same crap food. He grabbed Hinata’s wrist and walked to the door.

His skin burned and tingled in a pleasant way where he grabbed the shorter boy. It was probably a rash. He should get that checked out.

“What are you doing?” Hinata stuttered slightly. He tried to remove his wrist from Kageyama’s hand but the grip was too strong.

“We’re going over to my apartment, I at least know where everything is there.” Kageyama said, turning the doorknob. He turned to look Hinata in the eyes. “And I have more than college kid food.”

“Hey! I take that into offence!” Hinata protested, throwing his other arm up over his heart, but he let himself be dragged over to Kageyama’s apartment.

As soon as the two of them walked in, Spot the cat came and rubbed up against Hinata’s legs. She purred softly and Hinata scratched behind her ears.

A strange kind of warmth filled Kageyama’s chest when he looked down at Hinata and his cat, almost like the feeling that he was at _home_. Which was weird. Because he _was_ at home.

The loud clanging of a pan being brought down from the cupboard made Hinata stand up and wander into the kitchen. He turned on the sink and washed his hands, watching as Kageyama did the same.

“So, what are we making?” Hinata asked as he dried his hands on the towel that hung over the oven handle.

“We’re starting out simple, and since its breakfast, we’re making French toast.” Kageyama said, grabbing the eggs from the fridge. He gathered all the ingredients and spices necessary as Hinata stared on from the sidelines.

“Okay, now you’re going to be doing it all under my supervision.” Kageyama stated, crossing his arms. Hinata stared at him blankly.

“I’m doing what?”

You’re cooking, you dumbass.” He gestured to the counter that was covered in ingredients and dishes. “Do you know how to make French toast?”

Hinata shook his head.

Kageyama sighed.

“First, grab that bowl, no not that one—“ Hinata grabbed the second bowl and put it on the table. “Okay, now crack the eggs into it.”

Hinata did as he was instructed. Sort of. What Hinata _actually_ did was grab the egg and crack it a little too hard on to the edge of the bowl, causing it to break everywhere. Eggshells were in the bowl, along with only half of the actual egg, while the other half was on the table.

“What the hell!” Kageyama said quickly, moving over to where the remnants of the egg rest.

“Sorry!” Hinata squeaked as he lifted his arms in a defensive stance against his chest.

Kageyama sighed a little hard. “It’s fine.” He said, tight lipped. “Just rinse out the bowl and try again.” Hinata nodded.

This time when Hinata grabbed the egg, Kageyama was quick to stand right behind him, front almost pressed to Hinata’s back.

Hinata gulped and rest the egg in his hand on the edge of the bowl. He looked over his shoulder to where Kageyama was looming. “I uh, don’t know, uh, how.”

And suddenly Hinata’s hand was covered in warmth as Kageyama’s hand covered his. He gently moved Hinata’s fingers to crack the egg over the side of the bowl, slowly opening the two halves to release the contents, lightly putting the egg shell down.

The hand on his hesitated for a second and then it was gone completely, although the feeling in Hinata’s stomach didn’t leave.

“Do you think you got it?” Hinata heard Kageyama almost whisper into his ear.

Hinata gulped audibly and he could feel Kageyama’s smirk against his hair. Hinata wondered briefly if he was doing it on purpose, making him all flustered. But of course he couldn’t be, there was no way he could know that Hinata liked him, right?

Kageyama backed off of Hinata’s back and Hinata wanted to sigh in either relief or in frustration, and he wasn’t sure which one. Kageyama, he decided, was both a blessing and a curse.

“Now pour a bit of each of those spices in,” Kageyama said, gesturing with his hands to the spice shakers. “And add a bit of vanilla."


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not exactly my favourite chapter, but filler needs to happen at some point.

French toast was the only thing Hinata had made for the next week. As soon as he returned from Kageyama’s, he had ran to the store and bought all the ingredients he remembered from Kageyama’s table and rushed home to try and recreate the dish that had made his heart feel aflutter.

Because it was the food that made him feel that way, he decided. It didn’t have anything to do with the way Kageyama’s palm felt against the back of his hand. Or the way that Kageyama’s voice had sounded so close to his ear. It wasn’t even the way that Kageyama’s front felt as it had grazed Hinata’s back. Not one bit.

It was the delicious French toast.

As soon as Hinata had woken up that day a week after, he made the meal again.

When he had gotten to volleyball practice that morning, people noticed something.

Noya was the first to actually speak up and say anything, however the looks on everyone’s faces were enough to know that they figured that something was up too.

“Why do you look so… happy?” Noya started, checking around Hinata’s face for any physical sign that might tell him what the cause was.

“Noya is right, you do look more cheerful than normal.” Suga added. They placed the back of their hand against Hinata’s forehead.

“Now now.” Captain Daichi said, making his way over to Suga’s side. He placed his arm around Suga’s waist. “We don’t want to embarrass young Hinata, do we?”

“Maybe that’s exactly what we want to do!” Noya grinned. He removed his hands quickly, and suddenly gasped. “Is there a _girl_ in your life, Shouyou?”

Hinata blushed at his words, because he was along the right track. Except instead of a girl there was a bo— French toast. There was French toast.

“Oooooh” Tanaka and Noya cooed together. The grabbed each other’s hands around Hinata and started dancing in a circle. “Hinata’s got a girlfriend! Hinata’s got a girlfriend.”

 

 

 

It was at that moment that Kageyama decided to walk in for practice that day. He checked his watch, and saw that it read 9:05. He was late by his standards, not really by anyone else’s.

The first thing he saw when he walked in were both Tanaka and Nishinoya dancing around Hinata. They were repeating something like a mantra, but Kageyama couldn’t hear what they were saying over the sounds of volleyballs hitting the ground where Asahi was practicing his spikes.

Kageyama walked closer to Hinata, and he saw Hinata’s eyes meet his with a faint blush.

That’s when he heard it. The ‘Hinata’s got a girlfriend’ chant echoed through his ears and his entire body went numb for a brief second. How odd.

Thankfully, before anything else could happen, Sugawara jogged down from where they had been talking with Daichi near the stands and they clapped their hands together. “Alright everyone, let’s start practice! 6 laps around the gymnasium to warm us up!”

Collective groans bounced off of the gymnasium walls.

 

“So,” Kageyama asked casually as he set the ball to Hinata. “You have a girlfriend?”

Instead of bumping the ball back however, Hinata sputtered and accidentally let it drop to the ground.

“Dumbass! We could have rallied for longer than that!”

“I don’t!” Hinata stared at Kageyama. “Have a girlfriend, that is.”

Kageyama hummed for a second. “Then what was that whole deal with Tanaka and Nishinoya?” He said as he reached for the ball that had rolled towards him.

“Oh that.” Hinata rubbed the back of his neck. He looked over to where Tanaka and Noya were sitting on the bleachers, chugging down water from their bottles. How was he supposed to tell Kageyama that the nonsense they were saying was because of _him_? Wait! Not him, uh- the French toast? He sighed internally. Hinata obviously knew that the fluttery feeling he got in his stomach every time he looked at Kageyama was because Kageyama was, well, _Kageyama._ Not because of some sweet breakfast dish.

“So you _do_ have a girlfriend.” Kageyama said, looking at the sudden calm expression that had overcome Hinata’s face. He spun the ball between his hands. If Hinata could say anything, he’d say that Kageyama looked a bit crestfallen.

“I don’t have a girlfriend! They were saying that because I looked happier than usual… or something.”

“How can a ball of happiness look happier than usual?” Kageyama mumbled.

Hinata laughed a little. “Because said ball of happiness lives next to a grumpy dumbass.”

Kageyama stared at him and Hinata realized what he said, eyes widening quickly.

“I mean- uh- you’re one of my best friends! Best friends make people happy.” _Nice save_ , Hinata thought to himself. Now Kageyama was going to think he was a weirdo. They were barely _friends,_ not even close to best friends. If anything, they might have been enemies.

Kageyama didn’t say anything, only nodded once shortly before he was back to tossing the ball to Hinata. They rallied for a while and Hinata was almost glad that Kageyama had probably forgotten about his awful slip up. Almost.

“Do I really make you happy?” Kageyama asked casually for the second time that day.

Hinata jumped slightly but this time didn’t let the ball drop. He hit it back to Kageyama. “Well yeah, you do.”

Kageyama nodded a little. It was a while before he asked his next question. “Why?”

“Why what?”

“Do I make you happy.” Kageyama spiked the ball down quickly and Hinata squeaked as he instantly jumped out of the way.

“Well you don’t make me happy when you do that.” Hinata gave Kageyama a side almost-glare.

Kageyama scrunched up his nose in a way that could only be taken as an apology and grabbed the ball when Hinata threw it back to him. He shoved it under his arm and headed towards the stands for a water break.

Hinata jogged to his side and their steps synchronized as they walked together.

“I don’t know.” Hinata had finally said after they had sat down.

“You don’t know what?” Kageyama asked, squirting water into his mouth.

“I don’t know why you make me happy. You just do.”

Kageyama paused. “You make me happy, too.”

Hinata only smiled back. He looked down and whispered. “I know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things to expect in upcoming chapters: More Kenma! Backstory! Handcuffs and teamwork!


End file.
